Aridian Knights
by Reverian
Summary: Odin is a silent guardian, always watching over Damien. He would give his life to protect his charge, and trusts very few with the Dark Sultan's care. Crux, a hero from Castele is one of the few, and together the three of them go on many adventures. But Odin is not just wanting to guard Damien, but to love him as well. Damien himself wants happiness, and wants Odin to be happy too.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, Reverian here. Thanks for reading my story, you're awesome! I won't bore you with long author's notes, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own any part of the game Fantasy Life, even though it's one of my favorites.**

_**Between the Boy and the Beast~ Chapter One**_

The day that a brave hero and a random butterfly came to Al Maajik was not one that Odin would soon forget. He had been out for a walk past the outskirts of Sand Town when it happened.

Odin crossed a wooden bridge and looked ahead of him as he heard a loud exclamation of "Oh come on!" Before him was a traveler surrounded by jackals, sword at the ready, about to fight for their life.

Odin sighed and quickly dispatched the beasts himself, shocking the young traveler. Odin was about to tell them to be more careful when a voice spoke from seemingly nowhere.

"Wow! Thanks!" Odin stared at the traveler, who had not opened their mouth, and then saw a butterfly floating by their shoulder. "You really saved our hides there! Who are you?" the _butterfly_ asked him.

Under his helmet, Odin paled. Had he hit his head? Was the heat getting to him, was there _actually_ a _butterfly_ talking to him? He said nothing, and the creepy insect took that to mean that he couldn't understand it.

"Hello, I am butterfly, b-u-t-t-e-r-f-l-y… do you speak English? E-n-g-l-i-s-h?" the butterfly sounded out while Odin just stood there, gaping at the disturbing scene in front of him.

Fighting to keep his composure, Odin simply turned and walked away, wanting to put as much distance between him and the talking bug as possible.

Heading back the fortress sounded like a good idea anyway, as he didn't like leaving Damien alone for too long, to wary about all of the recent attempts on his Lords life to feel comfortable with leaving him unprotected.

Of course there were other guards, Zerk, and the rest of the Maajik knights, but he never felt that Damien was completely safe unless he himself was there guarding him.

Walking into the throne room, Odin found Damien asleep in his chair, his head resting on his hand, and a slight smile on his face. Cerberus was lying next to the throne, head on his paws, guarding his vulnerable master.

Odin smiled under his helmet had put one gloved hand atop Damien's purple hair. The soon to be Dark Sultan stirred and stretched, looking up at Odin with purple eyes.

"Hello Odin, how was your walk?" Damien asked, sitting up and adjusting his cape.

The teen tried pulling it out from under him, but instead found himself slipping from his seat where Odin caught him and lifted him back to his feet.

"It was nice." He said, straightening the dark material around Damien's shoulders. He felt so protective over the boy, the small adrenaline rush just from watching him slip off of his seat making his heart pound.

"Thanks, did you get a break from the armor for once?" Damien chuckled, sitting back down now that his cape wasn't bunched up anymore.

"To vulnerable." Was all Odin said, gently scratching the dog by his Lords side before straightening up and moving to the side.

Damien sighed, stood, and walked from the throne room. He continued out into the hall until he was before the doors, listening to Eldred threaten someone.

"Odin, go to the antechamber until I call for you. I will deal with this." The exasperated teen said, preforming a voice enhancing spell.

Odin nodded as Damien told Eldred to knock it off, and retreated to the side room of Damien's throne room as he heard the Dark Sultan invite someone in.

After a while of listening to someone speak with Damien about Castele, trying not to laugh as the teen tricked them by acting all evil, then show his true self, and then hearing Demona, Damien's mother come in, Odin adjusted his own cape and helmet, ready to make his entrance.

After a few more minutes of Demona embarrassing Damien, Odin was called in to escort his guests out. Walking into the room, the Majiik knight was shocked to find the traveler from before and the odd talking butterfly staring at him.

"Oh! Hello again mister scary knight! Fancy seeing you here." The white bug said, flapping in what Odin would call, a happy way.

He merely nodded and led them out, giving them directions to the inn. After some of the butterfly's questions, Odin mentioned that Damien wanted him to take a vacation, travel, and be free for a while.

"That's great! Damien really is very nice isn't he." The butterfly said, and Odin nodded. "You don't talk too much, do you?" the winged insect asked.

Odin explained about keeping Damien safe, and when the butterfly was feeling bad about always talking, he tried to calm it down, saying no one was judging it.

"You and my friend here would get along great! Both of you are silent as stone most of the time!" the butterfly said, floating closer to their companion.

Odin looked closer at the traveler and simple took a few seconds to analyze them. They had dark hair, though he couldn't tell what length as it was under a helmet that had its visor open. They also had dark eyes, looking like foreboding storm clouds, pale skin, and a small nose.

They did not smile at Odin, nor say anything, just looked right back at them. "See, Crux says next to nothing!" the butterfly boasted, flying higher before dropping rapidly.

"Crux must understand the value of silence." Odin quipped, trying to shut the butterfly up before addressing the young… girl? "Do you too have someone you protect?" he asked, watching them.

She responded with silence and Odin almost laughed, finding Crux amusing even though they had never even spoken to her.

"Silent as ever!" the butterfly said before going on about what they talked about in the throne room. Odin was shocked to learn that Damien had not erased their memories, and he felt respect towards them.

"Damien must be fond of you, as he could have easily taken your memories of the encounter." The knight said, turning around to go back to Damien's side.

The next day found them all in the Aradian Desert, watching Damien leave through the portal to the Trial Chamber. Odin felt a strange pulling in his chest as Damien vanished, and he felt a little sick.

When Crux and the silly butterfly came to find Damien, Odin had already made up his mind to follow his Lord, and serve him through his trial, to keep him safe.

When he saw that the duo followed him, he was both relieved and angry. They were true friends, but they could screw up the entire trial!

After some reprimanding, he let them tag along and went to find Damien. A shrill scream had him drawing his sword and running the rest of the way.

Bursting into the main chamber, Odin was shocked to see the Lord of the Dead, the late Dark Sultan's servant, trying to attack Damien and his mother.

Being as brave and protective as he was himself, Damien pushed his mother behind him and faced the shadow covered monster himself.

The enraged dinosaur roared and went to attack the teen, trying to deliver a fatal blow when Odin snapped into action, throwing himself between the raging beast and his Lord, shouting, "KEEP AWAY FROM THE BOY!" and brandishing his sword at the crazed creature.

"Odin! Crux! Butterfly? What are you all doing here! This isn't a circus for your amusement, if I fail this trial; we'll all be stuck here for another three years!" Damien yelled, a ball of dark energy forming in his palm.

Seeing the dark spell sent the Lord of the Dead into a frenzy, and it charged at Damien. Crux leapt forward and attacked the shadow beast, slashing at its hide and stabbing it to draw it away from the Dark Sultan.

The angry monster roared and whipped its tail at the brave girl, throwing her back onto the floor where she lay still for a few moments, causing the butterfly to panic.

Odin's heart sped up at the thought of the only other person but Damien who had appealed to him at all being hurt until Crux got to her feet, lighting in her gaze and thunder in her throat as she growled softly in frustration.

Then the butterfly started spouting nonsense about doomstones and another butterfly flew into the room. Odin almost threw up his hands in exasperation as the new butterfly spoke as well, and transformed into a maiden with purple hair.

She made the Lord of the Dead cough up some glowing purple stone and then Odin watched as Crux destroyed it, splitting it into pieces.

Things just got weirder though when the shadows seemed to melt off of the beast and it returned to normal, still scaring the white butterfly and a knight in gold armor ran in to collect the doomstone, talking very oddly as the purple haired girl turned back into a black butterfly and disappeared.

Everything that followed was very much a blur for Odin as it turned out that the late Dark Sultan was alive and trapped in a statue and was released by Crux and Damien.

Demona was pissed at him, and Damien refused to make war with Castele, and they were all teleported to the Spirit Oasis. By then Odin was feeling dizzy and he just wanted the chatty white butterfly to leave or at least shut up.

At last it was time for everyone to leave and Odin went to his room and rested, thinking back on two of the strangest days of his life… so far.

**Hey! This is a slow burn Damien/Odin fic, that has been corrected slightly (the random spelling error…). I hope you enjoy reading, I try pretty hard to make the story interesting. Anyway, please review!**

**~Reverian**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there readers! I just wanted to say thanks to Anon, my first reviewer! I'm glad I'm not the only one either! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!**

_**Bounties, Apples, Swords, and Pin Cushions~ Chapter Two**_

Odin knew when they were coming; he had told the lower Maajik knights to alert him at the passing of Crux and the talking butterfly into Sand Town. It was for this reason that he was waiting for them before the bridge to the Dark Sultans tower.

Crux spotted him first, her sharp grey eyes gazing into his red tinted ones. "Hey Crux, look it's Odin!" came the voice that Odin had come to associate with a small migraine.

With a slight flash of light, the butterfly was once again floating next to the brave wanderer, Crux. "How have you been, Odin?" the butterfly asked, shimmering lightly.

"I have been well Butterfly." He said, cringing at its proximity to him. He cleared his thoughts and turned to Crux. "I wanted to thank you, for everything you have done for Damien." He said, staring at the girl, who had taken off her helmet.

Her ebony hair was cut short and feathery, the slight desert breeze making it flutter about gently. "Of course." She spoke for the first time.

Her voice shocked him, as it was light and lilting where he had thought it would be deeper, rougher maybe, from disuse. As sweet as her voice was, he could tell from her eyes, sharp as razors, that she could cut with her words deeper than any blade.

The Shadow Knight made up his mind right then, that any friend of Damien's was a friend of his, and so he said, "I have protected Damien for as long as I can remember, and I would be honored to accompany a friend of his, and protect them on their travels."

"Oh wow! Odin, that's great! Now we can all go adventuring together." The butterfly spoke up, flying a looped-e-loop.

"Yes, I am quite confident of my skills to 'Kick some butt' as they say." Odin said to the butterfly, trying to warn it to shut up.

Crux's eyes lit up in laughter and small smile graced her face as she realized Odin's dislike for the butterfly.

The butterfly said something funny and Odin laughed, trying to get the paladin across from him to join in. The butterfly must have taken that as a sign that they were all best friends, because it sparkled with joy.

"We were going to see Damien, do you want to come with us?" the butterfly asked flittering to Crux's other shoulder, as if beckoning him to go with them.

"I will accompany you, anytime." Odin said, looking at Crux.

The stoic girl nodded, her eyes crinkling up at the corners in happiness. The only reason Odin noticed was all of the years of training to figure out moods before true action revealed them.

The butterfly went back to Crux and they made their way across the bridge to the Dark Fortress of Damien Hellbourne, current Dark Sultan of Al Maajik.

Once there, Damien told them of his wish to rule Reveria in peace, a land without war, and the butterfly tried to convince him to go on adventures with them.

"Now is not the time, I must see to my lands and to my people. But I will consider your offer." Damien said, smiling at Crux.

Odin was slightly disappointed that Damien wouldn't be joining them yet, as he would have looked forward to spending more personal time with the teen.

None the less, the two humans and butterfly set out to adventure or in Crux's case, take on every single request from anyone and make as much dosh by taking in bounties as possible.

"Crux, why do you fight? I would imagine someone like you to be a blacksmith, or an alchemist." Odin once asked her.

She had turned to him, pulled out her license card and showed him her trades. The only two trades she hadn't dabbled in yet were Cook and Hunter.

Odin raised his eye brows at this. "You are a mercenary?" he asked, causing her to smile.

"I am, an expert no less." She said, stowing the card away in her bag once more.

Odin was impressed, as it took real work and skill to wield broadswords.

"I would be a master already, but my Life Master has set out some difficult quests for me." She sighed, leading the Dark Mercenary across a wide field and dispatching a roaming bull.

"What would he have you do? Defeat the Lord of the Dead?" Odin joked, batting a stray radishy over the head with his blade.

Crux snorted, slicing a radishella in half and boxing it up in a crate to haul to a bounty clerk. "Not yet, but I'm sure he will. Cervantes actually wants me to cash a bounty of a Desert Tyrant first, and work on my Tornado Spin attack." She said, pulling the slightly shaking crate behind her.

Odin stopped and looked at her. "You are having problems with a certain technique?" he asked, kicking a field frog that had been trying to jump into his face.

The girl sighed again, collecting some stun powder from one of the frogs before walking on. "For some reason, I keep preforming the Hurricane technique instead, it's so frustrating." Crux said, crossing a bridge and waving to some other paladins at a look-out tower.

"Ah, you aren't pausing long enough between strikes. Both come after the Cross Cut, but you need to wait for that extra moment before you continue, or your momentum pulls you into a different stance." Odin said, sending a shockwave of energy at an approaching bandit.

Crux quickly had the leader of the petty criminals boxed up with her vegi-monster and looked at Odin. "It can't be that simple, can it?" she growled, kicking the bandits' box to shut it up.

Odin stared at the shaking crate before answering sympathetically, "It really is."

One large carrotella later, and they were moving again. "I can't believe that old pin cushion didn't tell me that." She griped, hauling the crates up a small incline before leading Odin into a quaint wooded area with a fishing bridge.

A boy sitting on the bridge waved to Crux as they passed, almost losing his balance as a fish took his bait.

"If he is old, then perhaps it simply slipped his mind." Odin said, gazing at the gentle farm land they'd come into, stables and a small airship hangar adding quiet background noise to the rustling of the grass in the wind.

"Maybe that's why Jude can't even seem to take out a carroty yet." Crux laughed, heading over a bridge and through the main gate of Castele.

The town was bustling with people, some running around with bags of groceries, others trying to get customers at their stalls. "Jude?" Odin asked, dodging a small boy chasing a cat that taken his grasshopper.

"Oh, he is Cervantes other apprentice, and he's hopeless." The girl obviously was quite used to the hustle and bustle of the kingdom, as she veered through the crowd easily, and entered a building labeled, 'Guild Office'.

A woman looked up from the counter and smiled. "Hello Crux! More bounties for me today?" she asked, beckoning the paladin closer.

Crux nodded and hefted the bounties over the counter. "One Radishella, how about 800 dosh for this one, and a nice daikon radish?" the clerk asked, shoving the crate into a back room.

Odin watched as she exchanged all of the bounties, staring as Crux didn't utter a word to the woman, and yet she seemed to know her very well.

"Okay and one carrot for you! I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon!" the bounty clerk said, handing over the orange vegetable and waving a goodbye.

Crux shoved the carrot in her bag and went over to a different counter. The man there wore a silly hat, and grinned jovially at the young paladin as she approached.

"And what'll it be today, eh Crux? Perhaps an angler or maybe you're finally getting your hunting license!" he said, pulling out his copy of her license card.

"No, I'm going to work on my Mercenary license today Darrel." She smiled, stamping paper as he handed her a scroll.

"Alright! Keep up the good work, expert mercenary!" the guild master said, waving.

Crux led Odin back the way they came after leaving the office. "My home is next to Falcon's Hangar, I have to pick up my broadsword before we go and practice anything." She said, passing a shady looking man who called after them, "Powder! Powder!"

Odin nodded, keeping his hand on the hilt of his blade while they walked, the strange man still shouting at Crux.

"What does he want?" he asked, looking back at the robed figure.

Crux glanced back and grinned. "He's a part time alchemist, and he wants me to get him combustible powder for his newest set of bombs that he pranks the paladins at the gate with."

"And will you?" Odin asked, shocked at the thought of her helping a crazy man like that.

"He has dosh, and lots of it. If it makes you feel better, I always make great quality shields for Gaites first." She laughed, walking into a fenced in area next to a log cabin.

It was a small house with a porch out front, flowers bloomed around it and a cricket chirped nearby.

"Home sweet home." Crux grinned, opening the door and welcoming him in.

Inside her home was all hard wood and green fabric, high quality Castele furniture was placed tastefully about the room, and a lazy cat snoozed on a large bed in the corner.

Crux immediately went over to a tall wardrobe and started rummaging through it for something, causing several apples to tip out and roll across the floor.

"Stupid fruit, you get back here." She grumbled, kicking an apple under her bed by accident.

Odin laughed and went to pick them up. He set them on her table and settled on a chair, admiring the craftsmanship of the cabinet next to him.

A cry of achievement brought his attention back to the girl at the wardrobe. Odin watched as she pulled a glowing purple sword from the wooden storage and sheathed it.

"I knew it was in there, stupid thing." She muttered to herself. "Alright, ready?" Crux turned to him, shutting the doors of the wardrobe behind her.

"A Demonic Blade, where did you get that?" Odin asked, rising from his seat.

"I am a blacksmith you know, it wasn't all that hard. I just needed to get the magic ore from the Ancient Ruins." She said, pulling the door open and locking it after he had stepped out.

"So that's what you did before you came to see Damien." Odin said, more to himself than her. It had been several days between the time that Crux had followed him down into the trial chamber to help Damien, and now Odin knew that she had been exploring.

"Yeah, did you know that there is a gigantic golden dragon down there that spits lightning at you?" Crux said, laughing at him as he froze to stare at her.

They talked more about the ruins as they walked through town to the shopping district, passing a rather flirtatious vendor for fruits and vegetables.

Odin didn't know they were there until Crux pointed at the building. "The Crown, the only tavern in Castele, and where my Life Master, Cervantes is." She said, ducking inside.

Odin followed her and heard a man shout, "I heard from Jude that you called me an 'Old Pin Cushion!' today!"

Shaking his head, Odin grinned and prepared for the day ahead of him. Crux was a stew pot of the unexpected, and he was enjoying himself in her company.

Damien was always on his mind though, and he wondered if the teen would be having fun with them right now.

Across Reveria, Damien Hellbourne was wondering the same thing. He sighed and stared out the window, thinking about his captain of the guard.

Odin was his only human companion, and someone he regarded with admiration. Maybe even more than that, he was starting to feel something more than simple respect and gratitude for the Shadow Knight.

"Yes, I will consider that offer, Crux and Butterfly." He said to himself, staring into space, imagining the adventures they would have, Crux, Odin, and himself.

**Yay! This chapter is done and corrected! Just simple things, some sentence structure, and word changes… But anyway, please review!**

**~Reverian**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know, I changed the title, because I spelled it wrong! But here you go, a chapter for my reviewer, Anon. Enjoy the fluff!**

**Anniversary~**

The Elder Dark Sultan floated about the Spirit Oasis, pacing from one end to the other.

Damien watched his father with a bored gaze, not knowing why he was so worried. It was quite simple really.

"Damien," he finally said, pausing before his son, "I need you to go out into the Aridian desert, and find me three black onyxes, and a fire shard!" he said urgently, his shadow flaring out behind him.

Damien sighed, "Father, I am a wizard, not a miner. Ask someone who knows how to hold a pickaxe." He said this while walking towards the portal.

"Damien Hellbourne, when your father asks you to do something, you do it!" the Elder Dark Sultan thundered, all light fading from the room. "Or you're grounded." He added as an afterthought.

The teen narrowed his eyes and growled. "Fine, but I can't see why this is so important!" he yelled, storming from the oasis.

"One day you'll understand." The late Dark Sultan said to himself. For now though, he needed to set up the most perfect date in all of Reveria.

Meanwhile, Damien stalked down the hall, nodding to Odin as he joined him. "I have to go out. Father requires some items from the desert." He sighed, running a hand through his purple hair.

"I shall accompany you." His knight said, nodding to Zerk as they passed him, letting him know that he was in charge while Odin was gone.

Damien looked up and smiled. "I'm glad of that; I need to venture into the Ancient Ruins. I don't really fancy strolling through there myself again." The Dark Sultan spoke as he stepped into the magic portal linking Spell Town to the outskirts of Al Maajik.

Odin simply nodded and followed his Lord. They traveled into the Aridian Desert and stopped for water at the small oasis before the ruins. "Why the Ruins?" the Shadow Knight asked as they neared the gates.

His Lord let a small ball of energy form in his hand as he walked forward and said, "My Father needs an onyx, three of them actually, and a fire shard."

Odin cringed a little. He'd seen Crux mine before, and she was great at it, but she had a master's license for it, and an actual pickaxe.

Damien looked at him and nodded. "I know, it's stupid, and the only reason I'm even doing this is because he's forcing me to."

Odin raised his blade as they saw two outlaws coming their way, swords at the ready. "He seems worried." He said as he sliced his blade through the ground, causing a ripple of power to blast one of the fiends.

"Yes, though I can't see why, it's hardly something to get so worked up about." Damien said, sending his ball of energy flying into the other outlaw that was trying to kill them.

Odin made a noise of agreement, though on the inside he was trying to imagine how he would feel on such an important day, trying to express his never ending love to the only person in Reveria who had it.

They walked through the main gates and down into the Ruins. Damien was in the lead, trying to find the precious deposits of magic ore that held the black onyx they needed.

"Crux said that there are three main paths. The farthest to the left leads to a terrible monster, the middle leads to a sand pit with a golem, and the right leads to a King Cobra, and a Wraith that all wizards fear." Odin lectured from memory.

Damien stared at him. "I don't think I've ever heard you say so much at once in my life." The purple haired teen said, feeling slightly jealous that Crux was able to get his Knight to open up so much.

"Yes, well… I was simply recalling what she said." Odin glanced at his Lord and saw his eyes, usually so focused, where clouded with thought and emotion.

"Let's head straight then. Sand sounds promising." Damien said as he dispatching a stray mummy and walked forward as a panel of wall slid back to reveal their path.

Odin said nothing as they went through the stone chambers, eradicating monsters where ever they went.

At last they stood at the top of a staircase that disappeared into sand, black ore shining in the torchlight. "Finally. There has to be at least one onyx here." Damien sighed, jumping down the stairs towards the promised treasure.

Odin, still at the top of the stairs, was about to agree when a huge Gilded Golem came out of nowhere, slamming its fist into Damien and throwing the teen against the wall.

"DAMIEN!" Odin shouted, running to his Lord.

The Golem turned on him and leapt, its impact with the floor shaking Odin off of his feet. He hit the sand and rolled away, just the golden giant hurled all of its weight at the spot he had laid.

Damien raised his head, fog drifting before his eyes as he watched Odin evade the monstrosity attacking them. The darkness cleared, replaced by rage as the Golem managed a hit on the Shadow Knight, sending him sprawling to the sand floor.

Odin looked over at Damien and saw the power of darkness swirling around him, the essence of his father rising in a terrible vision, ready to strike.

Damien stood tall and yelled for the Golems attention, "Look here you golden jerk!"

The Gilded giant turned in time to receive the full power of Damien's attack, crumpling into sand at the Dark Sultans feet.

Odin rose and ran to Damien. "Are you alright? Did it hurt you? I had no idea it was near you! I should never have let this happen, I am your Knight, and I should have protected you better. Can you walk?" the Maajik Knight rambled, checking Damien over for injury.

"Odin." The word echoed in the chamber, Damien's voice sending a shiver down Odin's back.

"Yes, my Lord?" he asked, kneeling at the Dark Sultan's feet.

"Are you injured?"

_Of course not, it's you I'm worried about._

"No, my Lord."

_Then why do I see pain in you?_

"Do you blame yourself for the attack?"

_I do, and it kills me to know that you could have been very hurt… worse even._

"Yes, my Lord."

_Please, don't blame yourself, you did nothing wrong!_

"Why? You were nowhere near me."

_Exactly. I failed you, Damien, I need to do better. I have to protect you._

"I should have been by your side."

_Odin, even when you can't be there, you are anyway. Even when adventuring with Crux, you are with me, in my heart and in my thoughts._

"You always are."

Odin stared into Damien's eyes, seeing the emotions reflected there.

The silence was broken by a voice. "Oh! The Dark Sultan and his Shadow Knight! It looks like you got rid of that awful Golem."

Both Sultan and Knight looked up to see a miner at the top of the stairs, her curly blond hair pulled back and a miners cap shoved on her head. She was carrying a pickaxe and staring at them.

"Well… I came here to mine, but if you two are busy, I'll just come back another time…" she said, uncertainty bleeding through her bubbly personality.

"Actually, maybe you could do something for me." Damien said, gesturing to the magic ore around him.

Odin rose and stood behind his Lord. What had happened between them? The unspoken words where the loudest in his heart.

"Oh sure! What do you need, Dark Sultan Sir?" Angela asked, bouncing on her heels.

"I need three onyxes and a fire shard." Damien said, pointing to the black stones poking out of the sand.

Her face fell. "Well… the fire shard may be a little bit hard, as it's really hard to mine those properly." She chewed her lip for a minute. "But I can definitely get those onyxes for you!" she brightened, lifting her pickaxe.

"Very well" Damien assented, moving away from the stone.

Angela made short work of the magic ore, extracting four glimmering onyx stones. "Here you go Mr. Hellbourne! I told you these would be a piece of cake." She said in pride, handing them over.

Damien looked at them with admiration. He then handed her 10,000 dosh.

Angela's eyes widened in shock and she looked confused.

Damien sighed. "This is for your services. Al Maajik is a better place with you in it, Miss Angela." He kissed her hand and walked up the stairs.

Odin stood there, shock, anger, jealousy, and confusion swirling through him. Damien had never paid any interest in women before, and now he lays his perfect lips on one!

"Odin, we are leaving." The Dark Sultan said, standing at the top of the stairs, looking majestic and powerful in the torch light.

`Odin pushed the thoughts away and followed his Lord out of the Ruins. "The fire shard?" he asks, patting a random armordillo as they passed.

"I haven't thought of a plan yet." Damien sighed, heading for the same oasis they rested at before.

Once there, Odin overheard an exchange at the bounty clerk's camp.

"Oh wow! That's a fire wingstone! It must have been a fierce battle! I can pay you 1,500 dosh for it, if you like?" the clerk as gesturing to a large bag that held a fire wingstone.

Odin couldn't believe it, that miner had what they needed.

"Oh yeah! I won't ever refuse some good dosh like that!" he said, rubbing his gloved hands together.

"Very well! Oh! This was in there too, what good luck! Here you go!" the woman picked out a glowing red shard and passed it to Rocque.

Damien stared at the shard in disbelief. How could it have been so easy that a simple miner like him had gotten ahold of the item he was looking for?

Rocque looked at the shard with confusion. "Huh, guess I'll sell it. More dosh!"

"Excuse me, but I'll buy it from you, for 3,000 dosh." Damien said, standing beside the miner.

"Ah! Oh, Mr. Dark Sultan Sir! I didn't see you! You want this thing? No problem!" the nervous man said, wiping his forehead with a dirty handkerchief.

They exchanged the dosh for the shard and the miner left.

"That was lucky." Odin muttered, still staring at the miners retreating back.

"Yeah, let's just get back to my Father." Damien said, leading the way back to Sand Town.

The Elder Dark Sultan was very pleased when he saw the items he had asked for. "Perfect! Crux! He's back, hurry, I need it as soon as possible!" he called.

Crux walked in with that butterfly Odin detested, took the materials, smiled once at the Knight, and walked right back out without a word. The butterfly of course, didn't shut up the entire time, still talking as the girl left the room.

"The circlet will be beautiful. Did you know that Crux is a master black smith? She really is quite impressive." Damien's father boasted, floating away.

Damien and Odin both stood in the hall alone, both feeling jealousy.

Odin still felt the burn of jealousy from when Damien kissed Angela, the scene playing over and over in his mind.

Damien on the other hand was seething at Crux. How dare she smile like that at _his_ Knight? Odin had eyes only for her when she was in the room, what did she mean to him?

"Odin, Crux seemed happy to see you." The Dark Sultan mentioned, leaning back against the wall.

The Knight looked up and frowned. "I suppose. She always does." He said, unthinkingly. He removed his helmet and ran one gloved hand through his tousled black hair.

Damien's hands curled into fists and he clenched his teeth. "She is lucky. Very lucky that… that she has you." He muttered.

Odin was shocked. _Has me? What was he talking about? The only one who has me is you, Damien._

"She doesn't 'have me' Damien. She never will." Odin said staring at his Lord.

"Of course she does! You love her!" Damien said, frustrated.

"She does not. Besides, you're one to talk, with how much attention you showed Angela." Odin growled, stalking towards Damien. He set his helmet down, still advancing on the teen.

"Angela? She helped us, I merely showed her gratitude!" Damien yelled, defending himself. In truth, he had wanted Odin to see it, to see how he would react.

"Oh I am sure. Gratitude must have been the only thing on your mind. You've never acted like that with anyone else, Damien, so what was so special about her?" Odin snapped, right in front of him.

"Why are you so worked up about it?" Damien asked, his eyes glaring. Inside though, he couldn't tell whether he was afraid or excited. He had wanted Odin to react, but he hadn't wanted him to be so angry.

"Because! You touched her, your _lips_ touched her!" Odin thundered, grabbing Damien's arms. Couldn't he see? The fact that he had showed her such affection clawed at his heart.

"My lips are my own to use as I see fit." Damien growled. _Kiss me. Go on, kiss me and show me what you mean._

Odin narrowed his eyes and leaned in, inches away. Then his least favorite noise came down the hall.

"We have to show Damien and Odin! They'll love it!" It was that damned butterfly.

Odin pulled away from Damien and stalked away. _Later, I promise I'll make you see._

**Yeah, I know. Nothing yet, but don't worry, it will come soon! I corrected this chapter too. If you happen to find any other mistakes, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. Please review!**

**Reverian-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello readers! I hope you've been enjoying the story, I know that my reviewer Anon is! Just for them, I shall write some more fluff.**

_This is entirely that stupid butterfly's fault._

Odin ran across the sand, heart pounding in his ears. Behind him a great roar sounded as the Lord of the Dead charged after him.

_No armor, no weapons, no one to help me!_

The path ahead of him veered down into a narrow hill to the Subterranean Lake, and Odin sprinted down it, not daring to look back at the enraged monster.

_I can't fight a pissed-off dinosaur with my bare hands, what should I do?_

The armor-less Knight leapt from the path the second he was close enough to the bottom of the hill, dodging a burly gorilla that spotted him.

_Perhaps if I hide from it, it will get bored and leave!_

Ahead of him was the dark entrance to the dangerous underground lake that even locals knew to stay out off. He didn't have a choice, as the Lord of the Dead was sliding down the hill behind him right then.

_Option one; get killed by a giant dinosaur… Option two; get mauled by the monsters in the lake._

Odin ducked inside the cave entrance and let out a breath he hadn't known that he was holding. The infuriated beast chasing him bellowed its outrage and rammed its head against the stone cliff side above the cave opening.

_You have to be kidding me._

Huge piles of sand poured through the door as the dune above the cave collapsed down the cliff face. The light from the desert was cut off and Odin groaned.

_I should have just tried my luck with the damned lizard._

He looked around in the gloom and shuddered at the clammy chill. Glowing slime covered parts of the walls, illuminating the stone passage in a sickly light.

_Well, that's creepy. This place is worse than the Ancient Ruins._

Odin steeled himself and took a step forward. That turned out to be a mistake, as the floor was slippery from the iridescent slime and he slid down the passage with a cry of alarm.

_This just gets better and better._

The Knight tumbled out of the narrow tunnel and into a large chamber. Looking around, he saw several stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave, and some bats had taken up residence there.

_Bats, just like the Ruins. Hopefully they're not vampire bats like those ones._

He cautiously got to his feet and rubbed his sore knee. He missed his armor, the constant protection it gave him was missing and he hated it. He felt vulnerable.

_You can't do anything about it now. Find a way out._

Odin walked through the chamber, testing the strength of a rickety looking bridge that crossed a gap between to chunks of stone. It felt safe enough so he crossed it.

_This isn't so bad; nothing has attacked me yet anyway._

Before him was a set of stairs that vanished into the gloom of the dimly lit cavern. Making for them, he was nearly pushed off the ledge nearby by a purple slime monster.

_Gels, the constant annoyance. Crux says that they are pretty much anywhere you go._

"Oh come on! Gels. Why are you everywhere?" Odin growled, kicking the oozing beast off the side into a chasm. Another popped out from the wall and spewed a noxious liquid at him.

_Poison, many gels have this property, and it will affect you even after the cause is dead. You can wait for it to wear off, or you can use an antidote._

Flinching at the sudden pain, he sent this one off the cliff to join its friend and hurried down the stairs. At the middle point of the slope, another stairway branched off, going upwards.

_A way out maybe? That would be very lucky._

Climbing them he found a chest sitting on a small ledge, unlocked, and containing a poison antidote.

_That's convenient, or inconvenient, if you think about it._

Since the poison wasn't really bothering him anymore, he kept the potion and moved on. He came to the bottom of the stairs and sighed. Two frogs hopped around happily, red skin marking them as poisonous.

_Irony doesn't even begin to cover this._

He charged at the frogs, kicking one into the murky lake beside the path. The other sprang at him, knocking him against the stone wall of the stairs.

_Why is it so powerful? It's just a frog! I've gotten rid of tons of these buggers when I'm with Crux…_

The frog spit more poison at him and he clenched his teeth at the slight pain it gave him. He pushed it away and stomped on it, kicking the slightly flattened frog into the lake like the last one.

_Poison antidote, right._

Odin pulled out the antidote and drank it. The pain faded away and he sighed. Another chest sat at his feet and he opened it.

_I wonder why all of these chests are unlocked? Surely I am not the first person to brave the Lake._

Inside the chest was a golden dagger. With a grin of triumph, he took the dagger and stood from his crouch. Across a small bridge were more frogs, and another chest.

_Perhaps there will be armor in one of those chests. Now that I have a sure way to get rid of the frogs, I can go and find out._

Odin crossed the bridge and slashed an approaching frog. It crumpled and deflated like a balloon and he made the mistake to stop and watch it.

_Don't they have bones? Innards? They can't just deflate like that… can the- Oomph!_

The other two frogs leapt onto him and pushed him into the lake. Cold water closed over his head and he clamped his mouth closed, kicking for the surface. He gasped for breath as he came up, coughing slightly.

_I've never been good at swimming, a problem that must stem from growing up in a bone dry desert._

He made to swim to the shore when he felt the brush of scales against his bare arm. Odin shuddered, looking down into the greenish water, coming face to face with a gigantic blue fish with a spiky maw.

_Damien, please forgive me for leaving your service in such a manner as this. I… wish I was by your side right now…_

*~***The day before***~*

Crux had come by asking Odin to go with her to Tortuga Archipelago. Apparently, she had to defeat a blizzard bird as a hunter, having finally decided to pursue the eleventh license.

Damien had glared at her slightly, still remembering the spat between his Knight and himself about the girl and Angela. She had noticed, and laid a gentle hand on his arm, gazing into his jealous eyes.

"Damien, I won't keep your Knight long, I am simply not strong enough to face the foe I have to fight, alone." Crux said, her soft voice surprising him. The Dark Sultan realized that he had never heard her speak before then.

He had nodded, and watched them leave for Port Puerto. How could he be so jealous? He sighed and went back to his studies. Cerberus looked up from his spot napping beside the Dark Throne and huffed lightly.

"I know Cerby, I know. I should go with them someday." Damien said, not looking up from the text he held in his hand.

Meanwhile, Crux and Odin where traipsing along the path through the Desert Ravine, talking about the quest.

"So you say this bird is weak to fire, immune to ice, resistant to lighting, and only mildly affected by arrows?" The Shadow Knight asked her incredulously. How they were supposed to kill such a formidable opponent was beyond him.

Crux grinned. "Ah yes, my secret weapon has yet to be revealed to you. Do you remember Apollo? My tabby cat?" she said, adjusting her beastly armor, the black leather contrasting with her pale skin.

Odin looked at her curiously. "Yes, of course. By the way, don't you usually where better armor? Gold or the like?" he asked, distracted.

Damien was on his mind, the interaction between the teen and his companion swirling through his mind.

"Hmm, yeah I do, but it's too heavy to wear when I'm hunting." Crux answered, smoothing a hand down the gleaming leather.

Odin made a noise of agreement and an image of Damien in dark, shining leather flashed in his head. A hot blush covered his cheeks, and he took a moment to be very thankful of his helmet.

"So, Apollo is your secret weapon?" he said, changing the subject again.

Crux nodded and laughed. "It turns out that he can weaken birds of prey with a certain attack another cat showed him."

The thought of cats sitting in a training room with a big dummy of a bird sitting in the middle crossed his mind, and Odin burst out laughing, startling some beetle ballers nearby.

After picking up the tabby from her home, Crux led Odin to the famed Tortuga Archipelago.

"This is it." The hunter said, pulling the curious cat away from a stray turtle.

Shimmering blue waters lay under the gleaming sun, sand bars dotted with palm trees waving in a warm breeze, and lazy turtles were wandering about.

"This place seems like a good vacation spot…" Odin said, breathing in the salty sea air.

"Yeah, and allot of ill-prepared tourists come here, unheeding the warnings of the port town guards. Piranhas, sharks, zombie pirates, and giant crocodiles roam the water. Not to mention that the walking palm trees scare the hell out of people." Crux grinned, shooting a fish with large teeth nearby to prove her point.

Odin stared at the other sharks and said, "Oh." Feeling rather like a tourist himself, he clammed up and simply let Crux lead him and Apollo to a rock formation that rose out of the beach, casting shadows over the water.

She was right, the first time he saw a palm tree that ambled around on its roots, Odin had felt a little creeped out.

Apollo had hissed at it, and slashed its bark with razor sharp claws, making it angry. Crux simply shot it a few times and it fell over, dropping some palm nuts.

The eventually came to the top of the tall cliff, a round plateau with a pool of clear water in the center.

Odin couldn't stop and enjoy the view, as a shrill cry filled the air and he got a sharp chill. The Blizzard Bird was here.

"I need to get its egg, hold on." Crux yelled, ducking under the massive blue bird and snatching a giant blue egg off the ground.

The bird went ballistic and Odin watched as ice shot out of its open beak, spiking the ground with shards of ice sharp enough to cut steel.

"Odin, don't just stand there, take cover!" the hunter shouted, stowing the egg into her pouch, hiding behind on of the large spikes of ice.

He nodded and ducked behind a palm tree as the bird dived at him, striking the ground where he had stood not seconds ago.

Apollo screeched, launching himself at the bird and slashing its wing, angering the bird further. The cat didn't relent; instead he raked his claws down the birds exposed chest and yowled a battle cry.

The kitty dojo briefly flashed through his mind and Odin grinned, coming out from behind the tree and slicing the bird with his sword.

Crux was firing arrow after arrow at the bird, some of them poisonous or laced with sleeping potion to weaken the bird.

He could tell that it was getting weaker and slashed the ground with his blade, creating a shockwave of purple energy that slammed into the Blizzard Bird, forcing it back to where Apollo clawed its wings ferociously.

Crux rolled out from behind the ice, her bow pulled back, and a gleaming arrow knocked ready to fire. She waited, though Odin couldn't understand why, as the bird advanced on her and he saw it.

The arrow lit up, and flashed a brilliant golden color. She let it fly and it struck the flying menace in the chest, bringing the bird crashing to the ground, defeated.

Crux wasted no time in boxing it up, leaving it to sit by the pool. She went over to Apollo and fed him a large fish. Looking up at Odin, she handed him a glowing potion.

"What is this?" he asked, inspecting the dark green liquid. It shimmered slightly and smelled great.

"It's a high quality health potion. I saw the bird hit you a few times, no doubt you need a good pick me up." She said smiling.

Apollo mewed happily and leapt atop the bird's crate.

"Yeah, yeah I know, time to get this turned in." Crux said with a look of satisfaction on her face. They went back down to the water and onto a different stone crag.

A hot-air balloon sat parked at the top of the cliff, and someone Odin recognized as a bounty clerk waved to Crux.

"Wow! A real Blizzard Bird! What a fierce battle it must have been! I can pay you 2, 500 dosh for it. Oh! And this frost feather is yours to keep." She said, exchanging the bird.

Odin was about to congratulate her on a job well done when the annoyance of the year popped out to speak its mind.

"Wow Crux! You guys make an awesome team!" Butterfly said, appearing in a flash of light.

Odin resisted the urge to smack it out of the air and sighed.

"You know, since it's so nice out, I think we should take some vacation time to ourselves today!" Apollo swiped at the butterfly and it laughed.

They headed back to Crux's villa and the stupid insect somehow convinced Odin to take off his armor.

Crux was trying to stifle her laughter at the tortured expression on Odin's face as the butterfly insisted that the beach was not a place to wear armor.

He had already taken off his helmet and was glancing pleadingly at her, trying to get some help.

She merely grinned and gestured to the clothes she had gotten for him. Black dueling trousers, a white linen shirt, and black leather vest laid on the table, complete with black leather boots.

"Fine, fine! Just leave me alone to change." He grumbled, batting at the butterfly that sparkled happily.

Crux simply turned around with a smile and went back to organizing her closet. Several bows were stacked in the wardrobe, waiting to be used.

"Alright, I'm done. And I feel ridiculous." Odin sighed, pulling at the vest.

"Oh don't you look handsome!" the butterfly spouted, flying around him.

Crux grinned and walked over. "You clean up nicely Odin, very handsome indeed." She teased, setting the armor he had taken off on the coffee table. "We can pick these up later."

They went to the beach and were fishing and talking when a port town guard ran up.

"M-message from t-the Dark Sultan of A-Al Maajik for Odin!" he said, breathing harshly. He handed Odin the scroll and ran off again.

The Knight wasted no time ripping it open, paling at the contents.

_Odin,_

_Mother and Father had a fight, and she stormed off into the desert. I am going after her, but it will be dark soon, and the desert will be swarming with outlaws. Please come as soon as possible, I need you!_

_-Damien_

"I must get to Al Maajik, now!" Odin cried, running towards the grassy plains.

"Odin! There's a faster way! Follow me!" Crux called, leading him into the city and towards the hanger.

"Robin! I need a favor from you kid!" she yelled at a young man wiping down an airship.

"Crux, what did you need?" he asked, adjusting his goggles and dropping the cloth.

"I need to get to Al Maajik, right now. It's very important, the Dark Sultan is in trouble." She said quickly pushing Odin into the ship.

"Oh man, alright, but, my ship only flies two. What about you?" he asked, worry plain on his face.

"I'll ride there! Just get Odin to Damien!" she snapped, running back to the beach.

Robin jumped in and started the engine, flying off towards the desert. He soared over the ravine and dipped towards the sands of the Aridian Desert.

"I'm going too fast to stop, but I can get close to the ground so you can jump. Ready?" the pilot said, glancing back at the Knight.

He nodded, grim determination on his face. Robin gave the get go and he leapt for the sand, rolling across a dune and sliding down it. He got to his feet as he slid and ran father into the desert.

"Good luck my friend!" Robin called from his ship, circling around back to the ocean.

Odin scoured the burning sands for any sign of Damien or Demona. Everything was quiet, much too quiet actually.

He cursed the fact that he had taken off his armor, and ventured towards the center of the desert.

"It's come to finish me off!" the loud scream split the air and Odin ran ahead to see the desert temple ruins, and Demona.

The Lord of the Dead was staring hungrily at her and she cowered against a pillar.

"Lady Demona, do not move." He called. He went to grab his sword and swore quietly as he realized that is was lying on Crux's couch at the Port Puerto villa.

Hearing his shout, the dinosaur turned to look at him. It growled and opened its mouth to roar; but it never got the chance, as a ball of dark energy collided with its face.

"Get away from them!" Damien commanded firmly. His powerful voice echoed across the desert sands as the sun started to dip behind the horizon.

"Damien!" Odin said, staring at the teen, majestically posed against the blood red sky.

The Dark Sultan turned to look at Odin and gaped a little. His Knight was usually covered in armor, but now, his dark hair blew free in the wind, and he wore dark trousers, vest, and a white shirt.

The enraged dinosaur took advantage of Damien's distraction, and lashed him with its tail.

The purple haired Sultan gasped as the air was knocked out of him and he was thrown to the ground by his mother.

Red filled Odin's vision, pure, protective, instinctive, rage. He let out a loud snarl and grabbed ahold of the beast's tail, tugging with every ounce of his strength.

The Lord of the Dead roared in pain, and whirled to see its attacker.

"Come and get me." He taunted, waving his arms at the monster.

It snorted and roared, suddenly springing forward and starting to chase the armor-less Knight.

"Odin! Run, Odin!" Damien screamed from his mother's hold.

He did not hesitate in doing just that, which landed him, by extension, in the Subterranean Lake, about to be eaten by a blue scale lord fish.

"Damien, forgive me my Lord." He murmured, watching as the jaw of the gigantic fish opened and the rows and rows of jagged teeth were revealed to him.

A sudden whipping sound came and a fishing hook snagged the lord fishes head was yanked away from Odin.

"Come here you oversized can of tuna!" Crux growled, reeling the lord fish closed to the shore.

It struggled, thrashing in the water, but Crux had not earned her expert stamp of her fishing license for nothing. She wrangled with the fish until it was lying on the bank, its scaly flank flopping slightly.

"Odin!" the Knight looked up and saw Damien running across a bridge towards him. The teen dived into the water and came up next to him.

"My Lord… I…" Odin faltered.

Damien pulled his through the water and up onto the sandy path where Crux was busy stuffing the beached blue scale into a sack.

"Are you alright? You look bruised, and a little scraped up!" the Sultan fussed, running his hands lightly over Odin's arms.

"Damien."

"Yes?" purple eyes met red-gold ones, and the teens breath caught in his throat.

_I love you, my Lord._

"I-… is your mother alright?" he mentally kicked himself, for not being brave enough, for not taking moment for them, for not telling him.

"Oh. Yes, yes she is fine. I sent her back on Crux's horse…" Damien looked disappointed, and helped Odin to his feet.

Crux had left with the fish and come back with what Odin could see was some timber stowed in one sack, and a glowing green stone almost spilling out of another.

"I will have to come back here." She said enthusiastically. She was sporting some major bruises, a few cuts, and her left leg had the slightest limp to it. "I tried to go farther, but this mean golem got in my way… Guess I'm not match for him as a hunter."

Odin shook his head and looked at Damien.

The teen was staring incredulously at the girl and he sighed.

"We should get back."

At the opening to the desert, Odin saw that the sand had been blasted away from the door and that the Lord of the Dead was whimpering while Damien's father shouted obscenities at it.

They traveled back the fortress and Crux left for a bounty clerk. Demona was stuck like honey on a hot day to the Elder Dark Sultan now and they left to spend some down time together.

Soon it was just Odin and Damien in the throne room.

Damien sat in his throne, absentmindedly stroking Cerberus.

_Tell him! Didn't you promise to show him how you feel? Make your move!_

Odin curled his hands into fists and walked right up to Damien, leaning down so he was barely a foot away.

"Odin?"

"I shouldn't have been away from your side, I wasn't there when you needed me, and you were hurt because of it." Odin said, his eyes staring into Damien's.

"You came to me. That is what mattered. And do not pretend that you weren't hurt too." Damien narrowed his eyes at his Knight. "I still need to take care of your wou- mmph!"

Odin pressed his lips to Damien's and wrapped his arms around him. He kissed him with all of the passion he had, unspoken words speaking the loudest.

Damien, though shocked, kissed him right back, holding Odin close.

When they broke apart, the Shadow Knight looked at his Lord with smoldering eyes.

"I love you, Damien Hellbourne. And I will always be by your side, until the day I die." He said softly, hugging him gently.

Damien gasped as happy tears filled his eyes. He threw his arms around Odin's neck and squeezed him.

"I love you too, Odin Shade! Always have, always will."

The two of them sat in the throne, Cerberus looking on faithfully.

This was perfection.

**I do believe that this is my longest chapter ever! Yay! And Anon, that last bit was just for you! 3 Please review!**

**Reverian-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well hello there! Here his another chapter, sorry for the longer than normal wait, I was a little bit busy… but anyway, thank you to my reviewer Anon, and my new reviewer, MissMissive! Thank you for reading my story, it makes me unbelievably happy to know that people like it.**

**Affirmative-**

Not long after the incident in the Subterranean Lake, Crux came by to see Odin again, and take him back down there.

They had stopped at the entrance of the Lake tunnel and Odin had turned to her with a glare.

"Why here?"

His friend simply stood there, adjusting a gauntlet of her holy armor that she had painstakingly crafted only days before.

"Do you not remember what happened last time I was in here?" Odin asked again, keeping one hand firmly on his blade.

"Oh yeah, I remember alright, fish bait." She taunted him, pulling out a large, quite deadly looking sword that Olivia Pescado had stashed away in a chest.

Odin gazed admiringly at the blade and then turned to glare at her.

"Fish bait?" he growled.

She grinned, "Oh yeah, you were total fish bait before I came along." Crux laughed.

"Did you know that catching that fish got me my master's license as an angler?" she said offhandedly as they walked inside.

He made a noise of acknowledgement and glanced at the small dragon hatching flying close to his companion. She had picked him up on the floating islands of Terra Nimbus, and was raising him.

"Castor, don't go too far, all you can do is spit sparks right now." She called after him, scooping some purple slime off the floor from where she had just dispatched a gel.

The dragon huffed, shouting sparks out of its nose. It was a deep blue color with a to-large-for-its-head crown, lightning breath, and tiny wings. How it managed to stay airborne was anyone's guess.

"So why are we here again?" Odin asked, watching as she opened a chest that some unlucky frogs had guarded.

She didn't answer right away, instead she stowed away the potion she had collected and stood up.

"Cervantes says that deep within this cavern, by the Jade Waterfall, is a Behemoth!"

He stared at her, gaping at how excited she sounded. "You are just joking, right?"

"Come one Odin! I've already killed the beasts on Terra Nimbus, this one will be a piece of cake!" she said, pulling him along.

"Didn't that golem guarding the falls mess you up last time?" he said, trying to dissuade her. The behemoth was a legendary creature that many mercenary, paladin, hunter, and wizard feared. In Odin's opinion, everyone should be afraid of it.

"Oh, that thing? I was a hunter, what did you expect?" she nodded, "I wasn't even wearing proper armor then."

"Besides, I've been here since you got trapped down here. Mr. Fish Bait." A sly smirk rested naturally on her face as she looked at him and said this.

"You're going to get it if you don't shut up about that whole fish thing!" he retorted.

She laughed and pointed ahead of them. "I'm sure you will, but only if that golem doesn't kill you first."

They had gone through the Lake, cleaning out all of the monsters with ease. Now they stood before a massive ironstone golem.

"Right." He grumbled, pointing his sword at the still oblivious giant.

"Castor, go get him!" Crux called to her dragon, having drawn her sword, charging it for a powerful attack.

The small dragon chirped an affirmative and dove at the stone beast, slashing it with both wings and claws, and stunning it with some lighting sparks.

Odin charged in and blasted a small crater in the floor as he sent a shockwave of power at the golem, making it turn to him.

Crux had finally gotten her sword ready, and it shone with a brilliant light. She swung her blade at the exposed back of their enemy, and it fell forward.

"That was easy…" Odin said in confusion.

"Oh he's not done yet, just wait." Crux snorted, falling back into position.

He copied her and watched as the golem did indeed get back to its feet and bellow at them. It doubled over, grabbed its own feet, and leapt. Like a child cannon balling into water, the massive monster hit the ground hard, knocking Odin off his feet.

Crux was ready for this however, and she sprang forward, preforming a tornado spin attack while the brute was down.

They fought it until it crumbled to pieces at they're feet. It had hit back hard, and Odin ached under his armor.

"Here, a one up my friend." Crux said, handing him a bottle of green potion.

He took it, grumbling slightly and they moved on. Odin did not remember much of what happened in the next half hour or so, only that it was a fierce battle that nearly got him killed, twice.

The soonest moment of clarity was at the Desert Oasis, turning in the bounties from the Lake.

"Odin, hey Odin can you hear me? Wake up you big hunk of metal!" Crux shouted, waving her hands in front of his helmet.

He blinked, shaking his head slightly. "What?" he asked, looking down at her.

She huffed and grinned slightly.

"Come on."

They headed back into Sand Town and Crux bid him his leave back to the Fortress. He bowed to her and turned to go back through Spell Town, passing the Al Maajik Library, Zerk and his disciples, the cowering Magnificus, and the guards in the front hall of the Fortress.

He stepped into the portal that led up to Damien's Throne Room and then walked out into the open space.

A flying spell hit him, knocking him back against a pillar, his helmet coming unlatched and falling to the ground with a solid _clunk_, scraping his head in the same movement.

Damien looked over and gasped, dispelling a dark ball of magic from his palm and running over to him.

"Odin! I'm so sorry! I was practicing with father, and I thought you were out, and I _swear_ that I didn't mean to hit you! I'm so, so sorry, really, are you okay?" the teen said in a rush, kneeling next to Odin, hands on his armored chest.

The Elder Dark Sultan laughed heartily and teleported back to his Spirit Oasis.

Damien was still gazing at his Knight with a worried expression when Odin started to chuckle slightly. It turned into a full laugh and he hugged the shocked Sultan.

"I am fine Damien, you just surprised me!"

"Are you sure? You're bleeding…" Damien stated, clearly unconvinced that his Shadow Knight really was fine.

Odin sighed and stood up, helping Damien off the floor as well. "Don't worry about this, I've certainly had worse, especially today."

Damien's gaze turned dark in worry again, his eye brows knitting together in concern as he chewed his lip slightly.

Trying to find a way to ease his worries, Odin said, "If you would like, you can help me get cleaned up."

The teen brightened at this and they made their way to Odin's rooms where he set about removing his armor, changing into a pair of dark trousers, dark vest, and black coat that Crux had made for him.

Damien gently cleaned away the blood with a wet cloth and then made the protesting guard take a small health potion.

"Odin, I was thinking… maybe, can I go with you and Crux sometime… when you adventure I mean?" the Sultan said uncertainly, pulling at his open vest nervously.

"She did invite you before, I'm sure that the offer still stands." The Knight remarked, pulling on a pair of leather boots.

"Yes, but she always comes to take _you_ on adventures, and you both work well as a team… wouldn't I just be like a third wheel?"

"No Damien, Crux and I want you to come with us, we _want_ you to see the world, to fight by our side… by my side."

Damien looked up at his Guard. Odin was pale from always wearing his armor, his red eyes standing out on his face. His black hair was barely shorter than his own, feathery and black as midnight.

"Odin…" he murmured, gazing up at him. Why was it so warm in here? He couldn't stop staring at the raven haired man before him, his usually armor covered body now defined in form fitting clothing, his milky skin shining slightly in the torch light.

The Shadow Knight didn't say a word, simply moving to stand directly in front of the teenage ruler. He looked down into deep purple eyes, tracing every perfect feature into his memory. He brought up a uncovered hand and brushed his fingers through Damien's lavender hair, the locks falling like silk through them.

"Yes, my Lord?" he finally uttered, his hand settling on the Sultans jaw.

"Kiss me."

No more words were wasted between them as the taller man captured Damien's lips with his own, kissing him gently.

"Always, my Prince." He sighed after he had pulled away.

The next day brought Crux back to the Fortress. She was wearing an odd robe, and she was grumbling about two tailed cats, wands, frogs, fire, and quests.

"Damien my friend, you are a sorcerer aren't you? A Dark Sultan like you, I'd imagine you'd have to be. Besides, I saw you use magic at the trial, and you were quite good with your spells, not even using a wand if I recall."

Odin rolled his eyes and huffed slightly. "Crux, stop rambling."

The gentle command seemed to do the trick, and she shut up, sticking her tongue out at him. She shook her head slightly, her hood concealing her normal flyaway hair.

"Anyway, what I mean to say, well, ask really, is this. Damien, will you accompany me as I journey to receive my mastery in wizardry?"

Damien gazed at her, happy shock on his face. "I, um, affirmative, I guess. Will Odin be coming with us as well?" he stumbled over his words, excited that he finally got to go on an adventure.

"Well, of course! He's a power house, and I'll need him with us if we even have the slightest chance of beating Calumnus." As always, she seemed unconcerned that they were about to go up against the spirit wraith. Just like how she was so uncaring about facing the behemoth.

"Calumnus? Are you quite mad Crux?" Damien said incredulously.

It was Odin who answered. "No, unfortunately she's not. In fact, yesterday we defeated the behemoth in the Lake so that she could obtain her mercenary hero-ship."

After a bit more discussion on the subject, they decided to just get on with it. Crux was stocked with health potions and she was favoring a very nice wand.

Being in the Ancient Ruins was chilling for Damien as they battled monsters throughout the maze like tomb. They came at last to a huge chamber that housed the feared spirit, Calumnus.

"Hit him with your strongest spell fist Damien, so that we get his attention. We want to keep him away from Odin. Unlike us, he can't heal himself with magic." Crux advised quietly, creeping along the edge of the wall for a good position to attack.

The battle started off with Damien sending the visage of his father at the wraith, followed by a rather over powered attack of stars raining from above, curtesy of Crux who had been storing power just for that moment.

Odin hit it with an attack of his own, but tried not to make himself too much of a target. Even with his almost ever present armor on, this ghost had magic that would go right through it.

Calumnus quickly grew angry with them, sending down a huge burst of power and crumpled Odin to the ground. Crux saw to him quickly, healing him and telling him to watch for the signs of that certain attack. "If he knocks you off of your feet with it, stand back and let us handle it. His down time is when you need to strike, as we are ranged, and you're not!"

The rest of battle when like that, Crux herself falling more than once. The first time that Damien collapsed under the power of the wraith had made Odin's blood turn to ice in his veins. Though Crux had healed him immediately, he still kept a protective eye on him from that point on.

Somewhere in the middle of the fight, the wraith got even angrier than he had been, and doled out a powerful attack that made Odin fall to his knees, gasping in pain.

Damien was standing before him, protecting him to the best of his abilities. It was a sudden explosion that caught the spirits attention.

Bombs, Crux had set bombs to explode around Calumnus, each one forcing the irate ghost away from Odin so that she could get to him and heal him.

"We will all need to look out for that one. He is weakening, and is giving it everything he has not to lose. We can do this." Crux's little pep talk didn't last too long as Calumnus was soon back to them, attacking fiercely.

Crux growled and drew a sword and shield, stowing her wand. "You wanna go? I am a hero of a paladin, and I _will_ wipe the floor with your sorry, ghost ass."

The battle continued, Crux doing just as she had promised and brutally finishing the fight with a swift slash of her blade.

The wraith fell and they all sighed in relief. Odin collapsed against the wall, removing his helmet and wiping his forehead. Damien sat next to him and offered him some spring water he had borrowed from Crux.

"Thank you." He murmured, sighing as the cool water soothed his parched throat. Damien kissed him quickly, drawing away slightly before hugging him.

"Is it always like this? I was scared for my life, and for yours."

"Yes, but only when she fighting a really challenging monster for a quest, as she usually doesn't provoke beasts like this without reason."

"Usually… and when she does?"

"Dosh, or experience drives her to attack dragons, giant birds, huge turtles, large serpents, and all manner of other creatures that catch her eye."

They both looked over to the wizard, watching as she used a bit of magic to force the unconscious wraith into a large crate. She finally got it closed and then disappeared into a back room for the treasure there.

"It's not that she is greedy, but that she needs the dosh to do all that she does for Reveria. She is not uncaring, always healing us right away, but she has got it in her head that any monster that doesn't permanently end her life is worth fighting."

"She drags you into much danger, doesn't she."

The Shadow Knight didn't answer right away, studying the patterns on the wall for a few moments.

"Yes, but her life is full of danger, mostly because of Yuelia."

It hadn't been all that long ago that Crux had literally had to save the world because of her companion, Yuelia. The butterfly, who wasn't actually a butterfly, but a goddess's daughter, had convinced the girl to go to Lunares with her to lift the darkness of the doomstones.

"Yes, trouble does seem to follow that girl like wolves after a woolie." Damien sighed, climbing to his feet and helping Odin up as well.

They followed the girl out of the ruins to the Desert Oasis, where she glad fully got rid of the bounty of Calumnus.

"Thank you both for your help in this, I could not have done it without you." Crux thanked them both, relieving them from her company.

They both journeyed back the Fortress in silence, both thinking about the day, and the events of yesterday.

Before they retired for the night, Odin turned to Damien and took his hand.

"Damien, I know that I have told you before, but I love you."

The teenage Sultan looked up at him and smiled. "I love you too, my Knight."

They shared a kiss before leaving each other's company.

_Perhaps I should adventure with them more often, if I get as many kisses as I did today._

Damien smiled to himself and gazed out the tower window at the moon bathed desert below.

Odin himself was thinking about his Lord as well. He turned over in bed and started planning.

**Heh, yeah I know that I'm a total stinker and didn't give you more after being gone for so long, but I'm still here! I was just playing through the game again for reference. Anyway, please review!**

**Reverian-**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there! Sorry that it's been a while, but this chapter is extra-long to make up for it! Thanks to MissMissive and Anon for reviewing! Love you guys, here's the next chapter!**

**Dates, Danger, Demona, and Determination~**

Odin's planning had paid off; Damien had loved the horses and the two of them had raced across the hot sands of the Aridian Desert. Then they had built a camp fire on one of the plateaus overlooking the desert below them and watched the sunset together, grilling meat over the fire. Damien had cuddled into his chest as the moon rose, and they sat there peacefully until Odin remembered Crux's gift.

To celebrate their relationship, and her legendary-ship as an alchemist, she had given Odin some firework-vials that you could shake, and watch them explode into the air, filling the quiet night with booms and colored sparks.

He had pulled away from Damien, much to the teen's disappointment, and rummaged in his bag for one. He grabbed a purple one, his boyfriends favorite color, and shook it vigorously, planting into the sand quickly and pulling Damien back into his lap.

The quaking vial lit up and exploded with a shrill whistle, a bright bolt of light shooting up into the sky and bursting into huge, beautiful showers of purple sparks, the boom shaking some sand off of the plateau.

Damien watched with an open mouth, gazing up at the display with admiration. Then he turned to Odin and kissed him, pulling back with a large grin on his face.

"Odin, that was beautiful! I loved it, all of it. This has been the best day of my life." The teen exclaimed, his eyes sparkling like the fireworks had.

"I'm glad you liked them, and I can promise you that many more days like this will come to pass, as long as we are together." The un-armored knight promised, holding the Sultan close.

They cuddled some more, sharing a few kisses, until Odin decided that they should head back to the Fortress. They put out the fire, tidied up the area, and headed back to Sand Town, passing a few bandits that cringed away, clearly remembering the 'polite suggestion' from Odin earlier that day that they not bother anyone in the desert tonight. Damien had ended up on Odin's shoulders somewhere along the way and was playing with his dark hair, pointing out things that held relevance to him, and waving at the occasional shopkeeper that stayed open late.

They got across the bridge after an odd encounter with Zerk and his Maajik Knights. Zerk had seen them coming and did a double take, balling his fists as he said good evening. He asked them where they had gone and silently stared at them when Damien smiled and answered that they'd gone on a date. After a few moments of awkward silence, Odin had simply shrugged and walked away, still carrying his Lord.

"Hey Odin, what do you think is wrong with Zerk? He is usually chattier than that." Damien asked when they got inside, using the portal to get into the throne room.

Odin set the teen down and answered, "I don't think he knew what to say, in all honesty he looked a little flustered."

Damien frowned, greeting his pet as the dog bounded up to him, tongue hanging out in happiness. He fed Cerberus and then went to sit down, staring off into space. It truly wasn't uncommon for two men to be in a relationship, and it was widely accepted in every kingdom. He knew that the Pirate Governor Olivia Pescado's brother was engaged to a tailor named Chic, and that everyone was quite happy for them. Damien also knew from Crux that her friend Jude was dating a paladin named Gaites.

"Odin, does Zerk know that there is nothing wrong with two guys dating?"

The red eyed man looked up from the floor where he was playing with Cerberus and frowned. "If he doesn't, that could explain why he looked so uncomfortable." The Knight remarked, sitting up.

"Did you know that Eldred was engaged to a mercenary before he was tragically killed by a rampaging desert tyrant?" Odin asked, remembering how the former arch mage had shut himself away for more than a year after it happened.

Damien looked up and arched a brow, trying to imagine Eldred marrying a mercenary man with all sorts of battle scars. He couldn't picture it.

"That's sad, poor Eldred. To think that he could have been so happy." The teen sighed and gazed out the window at the full moon.

"Yes, you wouldn't remember, it happened when you were only a baby." Odin said, standing up and walking over to the Sultan.

He leaned down and kissed Damien's forehead. "Don't think about it too much, it's the past. Eldred doesn't talk about it either, but that could because of your mother."

Damien raised an eyebrow at this admission. "Because of my mother?" he echoed questioningly, wanting to know what his mother could possibly have to do with Eldred not mentioning his lost love.

Odin looked uncomfortable for a moment before he sighed and sat down next to the throne, leaning against it and looking up at Damien. "Your mother never approved of Eldred having a male fiancé, much less the idea of them actually marrying. She openly voiced this to your father many times, and I was most commonly by your father's side…" he murmured quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.

Damien sat back and stared out the window, wondering what his mother had against two men in a relationship.

"She would constantly ask Eldred to seek out a woman's hand instead, even going so far as to suggest Esmerelda, who she did not know was Eldred's twin sister. That was about the most awkward conversation Al Maajik has ever housed I think… And your father was furious with her for being so blatantly rude."

The Sultan closed his eyes and listened to Odin's words, letting his mind paint the pictures he was imagining in his head. He could imagine a younger Eldred deadpanning that he was not about to marry his twin sister to please Demona, and he could see an older mercenary man holding the arch mage back from attacking Demona while she went on about them being so open with each other.

"After the accident whenever Eldred would mention him, Demona would glare at him and tell him to leave the room. Your father often countered her orders, making Eldred remain and telling your mother off, but after his banishment, it only got worse. If the poor man even uttered his loves name, Demona would throw a fit, threatening to exile him if he so much as thought about him again."

Damien's eyes flew open and so did his mouth. "I remember that, it was not even a year after fathers imprisonment when I heard her shouting so loud that I ran away into Sand Town, thinking that she was angry at me." He said, trying to imagine his mother being so cruel as to say such things to the old mage.

"I know, I came and found you at the top of a palm tree near the camels, saying that you would spend the rest of your life up there if you had to. It took four hours to get you down, and when we did you wouldn't speak to your mother for a week, as punishment for scaring you so badly." Odin recalled, smiling a little bit at Damien's expense.

The teen groaned and flung his arm over his eyes. "We were all kids once Odin, do not pretend you did nothing embarrassing when you were a boy."

The Knight gazed at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to decide if he had in fact done anything that he counted as 'embarrassing' when he was a little boy. Finally he remembered razor beak incident, and he flushed a deep crimson. "Yes, we were all children once, and _yes_, I did something rather embarrassing once. But I will not bring that up."

Damien peeked at him from under his arm and grinned slyly. "You mean you won't tell me the single most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"

Odin shook his head, countering, "I never said it was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me, but the most embarrassing thing that I have ever _done_."

The young wizard sat up fully, staring at his guard with burning curiosity. "Well now you _have_ to tell me at least one of them, or it would be rather unfair of you to taunt me with the knowledge of them both."

"Oh no you don't, when I say embarrassing I don't mean like I saw Eldred naked embarrassing, I mean like strung from the front gates covered with glitter, shaved as bald as the day you were born, on the day that every other kingdom came to visit, while it was raining embarrassing." The Knight growled, trying to come up with something embarrassing enough to get it through Damien's head not to ask.

He watched the teen's expression go from disgusted at the first statement to gleefully horrified as he explained the last bit.

"Oh Calumnus!" Damien squeaked, burying his hot red face in his hands and shaking with nervous giggles. He was imagining Odin looking like that and then he started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. He couldn't stop, and he laughed harder as his mind helpfully supplied the picture of Odin frantically telling people to look away while they gaped up at him, pointing. The girls would be awestruck, along with some of the guys, while the majority of the men would be rather jealous.

"I don't know what you're laughing about, but it better not be about me." His guard snapped, standing up.

"Y-you would look m-marvelous!" Damien spluttered, trying to breathe.

"You can't be serious, now stop it right now before you die laughing."

Damien didn't respond, as he really was trying to breathe. His lungs were on fire and his stomach ached painfully. "O-odin." He gasped, trying to draw breath.

The Knight reacted immediately, standing the teen up and tipping his head back, placing his mouth on his and trying to get air into his lungs.

After a few moments, Damien could finally breathe again, and he clung to Odin, a grin on his face despite the fact that he had nearly died. "I a-almost died laughing. _Laughing_, Odin." The teen giggled a little and looked up at his boyfriend. "To think that none of those Knights who came to kill me could succeed, but something as simple as laughter could take my life."

Odin did not share the same humor as the Sultan, trying to get his rapid pulse under control as he shook from the scare of it all. "Don't you ever do that again! I nearly had a heart attack!" he barked, holding Damien close. "And do _not_ joke about dying, ever."

The wizard looked up and sighed, feeling bad for scaring his Knight. "I'm sorry, but did seem rather funny to me. I my mind making a joke out of it was better than freaking out."

Odin relaxed and nodded, kissing Damien gently.

Demona took that time to prove that timing is everything.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" the shout was so loud that Damien jumped, tangling his feet with Odin's and losing his balance, falling to the floor followed by Odin who barely managed to fall without squishing the teen.

"M-mother! How many times do I have to tell you not to be so loud! I hate it when you shout like that." Damien snapped, getting to his feet, and then helping Odin up as well.

"Damien Hellbourne, you get away from that… that disgusting excuse for a man right now!" Demona shrieked again, rushing over and grabbing ahold of the teen, pulling him away by his vest.

He struggled and rounded on her with a snarl, "What is your problem? He is not disgusting, he is my boyfriend, and I will be near him whether you like it or not."

Odin started to walk over but Demona screamed, calling for the guards. "Get him! Get him and bring him to the desert! Exile! Banishment! Imprisonment! Bring him to the Temple and put him in the Ruins! No armor, no weapons, no food!"

"No! Stop, leave him alone!" Damien yelled, struggling in his mother's grip as Zerk and his goons came in and tackled Odin, beating him down and hauling him out, tying ropes around him as they went.

"Odin! Odin!" the teen wailed hysterically, writhing in Demona's grasp.

"No enough! I see now that I have been too lenient with you! You will marry a girl within the week, and that despicable man will spend the rest of his days in the tomb of the Ancient Ruins!" she yelled, pushing Damien into his seat and binding him there by magic.

"No! You cannot do this! Let him go! Let him go now!" the Sultan begged, trying to cancel the magic holding him there.

Demona didn't spare him another word, sweeping out and barking for the guards to keep him quiet and in the room.

Damien finally relented with the bonds and started to cry, wishing that none of this had happened.

Crux wandered through Sand Town, looking at the Odds and Ends shop for potion ingredients that she was too lazy to gather herself.

A Maajik Knight came up to her a presented her with a scroll. He bowed and walked off without a word.

"There is such thing as a post office you know!" she called after him halfheartedly.

Shrugging she opened the scroll and read it.

_Dear Crux the Hero of Castele,_

_This is a formal invitation to the Fortress of the Dark Sultan in preparation for his wedding.  
Please come at once by the summons of Lady Demona._

_Head Maajik Knight Zerk_

Crux read it again and grinned. "Finally marrying Odin is he?" she said happily.

"You haven't heard then." The shop keeper said sadly, bowing his head.

She looked at him and then at the letter. It only said 'his wedding', and the only person that he would be marrying is Odin. Though for some reason the letter also said 'Head Maajik Knight Zerk' and she knew that Odin himself was the head Maajik Knight. So if not Odin, which she very much doubted that it could be anyone else, then who would he be marrying? And why did the shop keeper seemed so depressed about it? Was his son or daughter madly in love with Damien or something? Crux tried to stop her swirling thoughts and finally turned to the man.

"Heard what?" it was a simple question that could mean allot of things.

"Last night, the Shadow Knight Odin was dragged out of the Fortress by the rest of the Maajik Knights and taken into the desert. People have been saying that Demona exiled him, that he is banished. For what is my question, because he's been the Sultan's right hand man for his entire life, and his fathers before that." The shady man looked sad.

Crux was shocked, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. She couldn't even speak as she gaped like a fish.

"And now with the wedding preparations, every eligible girl in the kingdom is required to come to the Fortress, and I even heard that Demona sent out a request that Lady Olivia, the Governor of Port Puerto come as well. She's choosing his bride, I just know it."

Crux looked up at the mention of her friend. "She won't get far with Olivia, as she is being courted by a woodcutter named Orlando, and they are quite happy together."

The shop keeper nodded and sighed. "Some desert girl then."

Crux barely heard him as she raced off to her desert house, changing into a pretty princess dress, heels, crown, fine gloves, and her favored philosopher's stone broach. She set out Damien's armor that she had made especially for him at Odin's request.

"Castor, we're going to see Damien, be on your best behavior." She told her dragon hatchling. He made a grumbling noise and breathed some lighting at the sand, causing a shiny spot of glass to form.

"I'll take that as a yes." She remarked, leading him through the crowded gates to the Fortress. The bridge was flooded with girls, young and old, all wearing their finest garments.

Crux passed them all, and any girls that got angry at being cut in line had to deal with the irate dragon following her around.

She finally reached the doors and her name was read off of a list. She entered and spotted Demona, the Lady wearing fine silks and gauzes standing out like a butterfly among moths.

"Lady Demona, you requested my presence?" she asked sweetly, appearing every inch a lady.

Demona took one look at her and clapped her hands together in happy surprise. "Why Crux! I nearly didn't recognize you! You look so lovely in a gown dear, it is becoming of you."

Crux did her part of acting modest, blushing a bit at the praise. Demona smiled at her and led her away from the rest of the girls. Some of them looked interested, others angry, and the majority just looked disappointed. Crux wondered how many of them would actually love to be married to the teenage Sultan.

"Now dear, I'm sure you know why I asked you here. Lady Olivia said that she was engaged, which could not be helped I suppose, but _you_ are completely free, a beautiful, brave, powerful, humble girl who would make my little Damien happy." Demona rambled on as she led the paladin up into the throne room.

The guards called out their presence and Damien could be heard shouting back to go away and leave him alone.

"Why, I have never heard Damien sound so irate. Should I go?" Crux asked sweetly, feigning nerves.

Demona shook her head and simply opened the door, sending her in. She looked up to see Damien sitting in his throne, wearing his finest clothes, angry tears running down his cheeks. He didn't even look at her at first, just stared hopelessly out the window.

"Damien, whatever is the matter! I have never seen you like this." She fretted for the show, as she knew Demona would be right outside the door, listening in.

The teen turned to her and gasped, jumping up and running to her, flinging his arms around her neck. "Crux! Thank Calumnus you are here, it's been just awful! They took Odin away, imprisoned him in the Ruins, and-and, it's a-all my f-fault!" he was sobbing by the time he finished speaking, clinging to her.

"Damien shh, no need to bring your mother in here, and ruin my plan. Let's talk about this… _quietly_." The faux princess murmured to him, half leading half carrying him back over to his throne.

He looked up at her with tear filled eyes. "Plan, what plan? How are we going to save Odin?" he whispered, wiping his face.

Crux smiled, taking a seat of the arm of the throne. "We are going to convince your mother that you have fallen madly in love with me after seeing me all dolled up like this, and then we are going to high-tail it out of here and save your boyfriend."

He gaped at her, trying to judge if she was being serious or not. "So, I am supposed to just completely change my mind about Odin and start swooning for you? She'll never believe that!" he hissed.

"Au contraire my desert friend, your mother will be completely fooled, as she already has her heart set on us as a couple." She remarked under her breath.

Damien seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. "What do I need to do?" he asked in determination.

She smirked and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Just follow… my… lead." She whispered, jumping up and swaying to an unheard music.

Demona stood outside the door to the throne room, having given up pacing. She was amazed at how well Crux had cleaned up, the girl was usually covered in armor, and carrying a fierce weapon of some sort. But now, the dark haired woman wore a lovely blue dress that hugged her every curve before flowing out into a nice skirt, high heels with little blue roses on them, white gloves that made her look every bit a dainty lady, a gorgeous broach, and the perfect topper on the cake; a tiara. The supposed 'Hero of Castele' looked more the like the fairy princess of Lunares.

Suddenly she heard Damien exclaim something and she pressed her ear against the door, trying to catch their conversation.

"-And until now, I have never seen you look more beautiful. I never imagined a girl would look so… perfect in my eyes."

"Why Damien, I don't know what to say. To have your attention like this, my heart might just beat right out of my chest!"

_Yes! He likes her! She showed him how attractive a girl could be, and what teenage boy doesn't like a pretty woman in a slightly revealing dress? Not that Crux is being indecent; the gown has a perfectly acceptable neckline, considering what some of the girls have come in wearing._

"I must confess that before today, I had given no interest in women, quite the opposite actually, but why pass up a lovely flower like you for a man who could never truly be mine?"

"You really like me that much, my prince?"

"Crux, I do not like you."

_What?! No! Of course you do!_

"I am in love with you, please! Be mine."

"I… Oh Damien! Of course! Yes, I will be yours, my Lord."

The clear sound of a kiss could be heard and Demona practically squealed in joy, bursting in to see a smiling Damien pull away from a slightly flushed Crux.

"Mother, I am so sorry that I didn't understand what you were doing for me! You just wanted me to see that girls like Crux were out there for me!" he gushed, slipping an arm around the aforementioned girl's waist.

The princess smiled happily at him and leaned into him a bit.

"I could not be happier with the turn out of this!" Demona said through happy tears. She led them both out the main hall and addressed the rest of the guests.

"Today is a very special day! Today will mark an annual celebration throughout Al Maajik, for my son Damien has found his bride, the Hero of Castele, Princess Crux!"

Many of the guests clapped and cheered, some of them even wolf whistled, and others broke down into disappointed tears or angry shouts.

"Order! Order now!" Zerk shouted, trying to calm the crowd down.

"Mother, Crux and I need to go to her home in Spell Town to get some of her things, as she will be staying here from now on." Damien said with a big smile on his face.

Demona sighed happily and nodded, sending two guards with them. She watched her son and future daughter-in-law make their way through the sea of women around them and disappear out the front door. She just knew that she had done the right thing.

Crux held Damien's hand as they crossed the bridge into Spell Town, nodding to Castor once they were away from the crowds.

The little dragon snorted and started to fly off after a stray beetle. "Oh! Oh no, Castor come back here! Please, my little baby, you must go get him before he gets lost!" Crux cried in mock terror.

The two Maajik Knights took off after the dragon hatchling and the smirking paladin led Damien inside her house where she changed into her creator armor, pulling out her sword and shield.

"Damien, this is where things get serious. My horse Lolli is waiting for us by the camels, and then we will go for Odin. The guards will immediately inform your mother, so we must move fast!" she told the purple haired wizard.

He nodded gravely, and put on the black leather armor that she had set aside for him. It was trimmed in royal purple and made to fit him perfectly. He glanced at her in question and she shrugged.

"It was a request from Odin. He wanted you to have better protection when you came adventuring with us." She explained, lacing up the back a bit tighter than he had been able to.

They set off, running through the streets right past the two guards, Crux whistling to Castor who was busy circling the now dizzy Knights. He barked a little and flew off to join them as they sprinted through Sand Town. They reached the Outskirts and quickly found the white mare that stood waiting for them, nickering at Castor.

"Up you get Damien, she's just a horse." Crux muttered, when Damien stalled around the champing mare. She pulled him up and they galloped off into the Aridian Desert.

"Milady! Your son and his bride! They- well they have run off into the desert, both wearing armor, Lady Demona." One of the Maajik Knights called out to Demona as they ran up to her.

She turned pale white and stared at both of the guards who were supposed to have escorted Damien and Crux to and from the girl's home.

"You mean to say that they have run off into the desert, wearing full armor, with a definite intent to free and exiled prisoner, and you DID NOT STOP THEM?!" she raged, furious.

"The little dragon distracted us my Lady, we are so sorry!" they both cried, cringing back from her.

"Never mind that! Get the guards, all of them. We are going to the Ancient Ruins." Demona snapped, balling her hands into fists.

Crux and Damien flew across the desert on her horse, the mare's feet seeming to barely touch the sand as she galloped towards the Ruins at full speed.

"Nearly there, and the sun is going down. We need to get into the Ruins before dark or the Lord of the Dead will head us off at the entrance." Crux said loudly over the rushing wind.

All Damien could do was nod and hope that Lolli was fast enough.

They passed through the gates of the Ruins and the horse slowed down enough for Crux to jump off, bringing the startled Sultan with her. They hit the sand and she pulled him to his feet, running up the steps and down into the Ruins gaping entrance.

Colin bowed to them as they passed, knowing why they were there. He stepped down from the stone walk way and went to lead the snowy white horse off to the Oasis for some water. "Good girl, fine horse." He whispered to her.

Inside the Ruins, Crux wasn't even bothering with the mummies and bats that swarmed the tunnels, moving fast towards the Golden Dragons lair.

"I've beat her once with King Erik and my friend Dragon-Slayer helping me, and let me tell you; it wasn't easy!" she explained in a half yell as they ran through the corridors, dodging some angry cactus and a large spooky.

"But we have Castor with us now, and he is the same type of dragon. She cannot attack one of her own kind, so we have the advantage."

Damien didn't say anything, just looked the little dragon bobbing along with them, his small wings fluttering as fast as they could.

Crux soon put out a hand to stop him, and he saw a great light up ahead of them. "I-is that it? The g-great Golden D-dragon?" he asked, gasping for breath.

"Yeah." Crux said simply. She drew her sword, and Damien gaped at the glowing sheen it omitted, throwing little rainbows off light glancing off the darkened walls.

At his awestruck gaze, she explained, "I am a creator level paladin, which means that I have gifts from the gods, which also means that this will be over much faster."

He nodded gravely and let a ball of dark energy form in the palm of his hand. "For Odin." He whispered to himself.

Crux echoed him a little louder, sending Castor ahead of them. She thrust her blade skyward and let a bright light wash over her, a powerful humming noise starting to buzz from her sword.

They attacked the unsuspecting dragon with everything they had and by the time it was over, a gleaming gold cage sat in the center of the room, and Crux leant against it, removing her helmet and wiping her forehead.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but if I ever see lightning again, I'll go crazy." Damien muttered, straightening his slightly static hair.

Castor blew a single spark at him and grumbled, seeming to be laughing at him.

"Yes well, let's go, Odin is just on the other side of those doors." The paladin said, shoving the dragons bounty into the corner and walking for the door to the treasure room.

Damien followed her quickly and he had to shield his eyes as the sight of the treasure horde came into view. Piles of gold that was speckled with gems lay everywhere, chests dotting the room.

"Odin, are you in here my friend?" Crux called out, sliding down a pile of gold to walk on the main floor area.

The Sultan also started to call out for his Knight, which turned into a slightly girlish shriek as a chest opened up to reveal large teeth and a lolling tongue.

"What is that thing!?" Damien yelled, kicking it away from him.

Crux laughed and slammed her blade down on its head, buckling the lid of the treasure chest. "It's a mimic. They pretend to be inanimate objects, and then attack the unsuspecting. Cute aren't they."

The teen shook his head in disbelief and continued his search for Odin. They come up to the largest gold pile and found him at last, tied to a gigantic piece of treasure.

"Odin! Oh please be okay." Damien gasped, running up to his crumpled Knight.

Crux followed, health potions glowing in her hands. She knelt next to the couple and gently fed the unconscious Knight a potion, and then another. She frowned when there was no change and rifled through her bag for a different one. When she pulled it out Damien was surprised to see wings on the bottle. The potion itself was a bright clear sky blue with a pearly shine to it, light cascading from the opalescent liquid.

"An angelic remedy; the very best health potion in the world, straight from Origin Island itself." She said, tipping Odin's head back and pouring the potion down his throat.

Sparkles seemed to shimmer away from them and red eyes opened to see them crouched before him. "Damien? Crux? What are you doing here?" he asked unsteadily.

Damien threw his arms around the dark haired man, hugging him tightly. "Odin, I'm so glad that you're okay, when mother ordered them to take you away like that, I was so worried. And then she tried to get me to marry some girl, which I would never have agreed to. Her mistake was inviting Crux, and we tricked her, escaping from the fortress under the rouse that we had to get Crux's things. We rode here on her horse, Lolli, and killed the great golden dragon that guards this treasure horde. I was so scared that I'd never see you again." He finished his tirade in a whisper.

Odin blinked and stared at Damien for a moment before kissing him firmly. "Your mother will never keep us apart. Not as long as I live." He said softly, holding the purple haired ruler close.

Crux smiled and finished cutting the rest of Odin's binds, helping the duo to their feet and leading them out of the treasure room. She collected her bounty that Castor had guarded and they all traipsed tiredly out the Ruins.

Coming out into the fresh air of the desert would have been nice, if they weren't faced by the entire Maajik Knight army, all armed with fierce blades and black armor. In the dawn light, Demona could be seen standing on a stone above them, rage on every inch of her expression. Colin was tied up not far from the entrance, laying against the stone wall.

"How dare you. How dare you free this exiled man, he is a prisoner, a banished Knight. And lying to me about Crux; how could you do something like this to me? I just wanted you to be happy, but you won't let me help you! He has obviously tricked you somehow, ensnared you with some spell of love. But I won't have it, he can't have you!" Demona shouted angrily, pointing at the trio.

"I have no choice but to have him removed from your life, forever. Knights, bring my son to me, and kill the others. Crux has expressed treason, and will suffer her punishment with the former Knight, Odin." The matriarch commanded.

"NO! Stop it mother, you cannot do this. I will not let you." Damien yelled, turning to the advancing Knights. "Listen to me; **I**__am your commander, the Dark Sultan, not Demona Hellbourne. You will not harm Odin." The command echoed throughout the canyon and Damien stepped up onto a stone of his own, the rising sun bathing him in a fiery glow.

The Knights stopped and gazed at their Sultan, his purple eyes shining magenta in the sunlight. Many lay down their swords and knelt to their lord, all except Zerk and his disciples.

Zerk raised his blade and charged at Odin, calling out, "Demona is my ruler, not you Boy." And his Knights followed him.

Damien jumped off of the pedestal and threw himself in front of Odin and Crux, a wall of dark power guarding his dear ones. Zerk rammed into it and Damien grunted in exertion, holding it up with all of his will. The other Knights under Zerk's command also beat against the shield, slashing their swords into the purple magic. Damien cried out in pain and forced the wall towards Zerk, trying to keep him back.

"Damien, stop! You're hurting yourself!" Odin yelled, wrapping his arms around the teen while Crux leapt forward, shouting at the Knights. "Your Sultan is being attacked, and yet you sit there and watch! Where is your loyalty, you cowards?"

Damien's shield finally dropped and the Sultan fell back into Odin, the buckling power sending everyone crashing to the ground.

Crux was the first one back on her feet, rushing to Odin and Damien with more potions. She handed him an elixir and a Miracle potion. "Stay behind me, I won't let them hurt you." She growled, drawing her sword and facing the recovering Maajik Knights.

Zerk raised his blade and prepared to charge when a booming voice erupted from the sky.

"ENOUGH! I have had ENOUGH!" The Elder Dark Sultan thundered, appearing before them all. "Demona, what is wrong with you!? This is our son, how could you hurt him?! And how could you imprison Odin, and then command the Knights to kill him!?" he yelled at Demona, anger clear in his words.

She squared her shoulders and shouted back, "He cannot be allowed to marry that- that man! He will not marry a _man_!"

"That's what this is about? I thought I had got it through your head before, there is nothing wrong with two men being together! No wonder Eldred couldn't stand you, he was even the one to tell me what was going on." The former Sultan raged.

Demona snorted at the mention the arch mage. "He should never have chosen Rubin for a fiancé, it only brought him misery. Two men should never like one another like that!"

"I will not hear another word on the subject, because you are wrong. Damien can marry whomever he pleases." Damien's father snapped.

"He will marry who I decide for him!"

"You sound like my father! Don't you remember all those years ago? When my father demanded that I marry the Princess from Tortuga Archipelago, and we were in love? You were a cooks daughter and I was a prince, we could not be together."

"That was a long time ago!"

"Yes, it was, but it is the same thing. He banished you, and still I refused to marry. He said, 'Lucifer, if you do not marry this princess I will banish you too!' but I simply ran away to find you. Eldred helped me find you, and then I took you to Castele where King Gladstone married us. That was also where I befriended Erik, but that is neither here nor there. I journeyed to Port Puerto, and encouraged the Princess there to marry whom she loved, a sailor named Ahab, and then lived with you in secret until my father, Hades, left for the afterlife. Now don't you ever say that Damien will marry who _you_ want him too, because by that logic, I would be married to that princess, and you would be married to some desert man." Lucifer finished his story and glared at Zerk who was gaping up at him.

"And you! How dare you attack my son? I hereby strip you of every rank you hold, and assign you to outlaw control." He commanded, magically removing Zerk's rank.

The rest of the Maajik Knights ran off back to the fortress and Demona sat there crying. "I only wanted what was best for my little boy!"

"And he has what is best for him, Odin will take great care of him. You cannot meddle anymore in their lives." Lucifer sighed, turning to his son.

"Damien, I can see that you truly love Odin, and that he loves you as well. I give you my blessing, and my protection. No one shall ever come between you."

He then turned to Crux. "Lady Crux, you are incredibly brave to stand up to an entire army single handed. Even more so to deliberately lie to my wife's face. If there is ever anything you need, just ask and I will see what I can do."

Crux bowed and went to untie Colin. The lavender haired wizard looked at her and sighed. "My boyfriend is going to kill me when he finds out about all of this, I just know it."

The paladin cracked a grin and nodded. "Mage will undoubtable coddle you to death, 'My poor Colin! Tied up and thrown like a ragdoll into a corner.' Ha!"

The two of them continued their banter quietly and Odin turned to Damien. "Are you alright, my Prince?" he asked.

Damien smiled and hugged him tightly. "I am fine. In fact, I have a question for you." He said, looking at Crux.

She smiled and came over, handing him a small silk bag. Damien turned back to Odin and smiled nervously. "Odin, will you marry me?"

**Hullo. Yes, I just did that, a cliff hanger. So bite me. Thank you MissMissive for the great idea, I hope you don't mind that I used it. Please review!**

**Reverian-**


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